The Engineering Design Process - Choose The Best Solution

3/9/2019 The Engineering Design Process: Choose the Best Solution
Choose the Best Solution
Key Info
First, look at whether each possible solution met your design requirements. Consider solutions that did a much
better job than others, and reject those that did not meet the requirements.
Some criteria apply to virtually every design. Good designers consider these universal design criteria when
choosing which possible solution to implement:
Elegance
Robustness
Aesthetics
Cost
Resources
Time
Skill required
Safety
It helps to compare solutions in a decision matrix—a chart with the requirements and criteria on one axis and the
different solutions on the other. Here is a Decision Matrix Worksheet (https://d1ca4yhhe0xc0x.cloudfront.net/science-fair-
projects/engineering-design-process/decision-matrix-worksheet.pdf) to help you choose a design.
If your requirements and solutions are relatively simple, you can sometimes just list the pros and cons for each
solution. Pros are good things about a solution and cons are bad things.
Defining "Best"
Once you have created a number of possible solutions to your design problem, you need to choose which one is best.
Requirements
First, look at whether each possible solution met your design requirements. Consider solutions that did a much better job
than others, and reject those that did not meet the requirements.
Nice to Haves, Desirables

In addition to your design requirements, you probably have some features that would be "nice to have" in your solution.
These are things that are not quite as important as your design requirements; they are desirable, but not mandatory.
Some of your possible solutions might include more of these nice-to-have features than others, and that is a possible
reason they might be better.
Universal Design Criteria

Some criteria apply to virtually every design. Good designers consider them in every solution that they choose to
implement.
Elegance. An elegant design solution is simple, clever, or ingenious. It might have fewer parts to wear out
or fail. It might combine solutions from different areas in an inventive way not seen before. All good
designers strive for elegance in their designs.
Robustness. A robust design is unlikely to fail, even when used in conditions more severe than it was
designed for. It is sturdy or resilient, perhaps bending, but not breaking in hard use.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/engineering-design-process/best-solution#howtochoose 1/4
Aesthetics. If everything else is equal, people prefer a solution that is tasteful and pleasing to look at.
Cost. What will it cost? Can the target user afford the solution? Do you have enough money to build your
prototype?
Resources. Do you have all the materials and equipment you need for your engineering project, or will you
be able to obtain them quickly and at a very low cost?
Time. Do you have enough time to complete your design and make it before the due date? Allow time for
doing additional research and fixing problems. It is very rare for everything to work correctly the first time.
Skill Required. Do you have the skills to build and implement your solution, or can you learn them in the
time available?
Safety. Is your solution safe to build, use, store, and dispose of?
The Decision Matrix

As you compare potential solutions to your design brief and the universal criteria for a good design, it may be obvious
which solution is the best. More often than not it helps to compare the solutions in a decision matrix. A decision matrix is a
chart with your requirements and criteria on one axis and the different solutions on the other. Use a simple numeric
evaluation scale to rate each solution against each of the criteria (2 = totally meets the criteria, 1 = somewhat meets the
criteria, 0 = does not meet the criteria). Total up the columns to see which solution is best.
Alternatively, if you have colored stickers or pens, you can rate projects with a color scale (green = totally meets the
criteria, yellow = somewhat meets the criteria, and red = does not meet the criteria). Using colors gives a highly visual
indication of which solution is best (the more green the better!).
In our example, we lump together nice-to-have, desirable features and the universal design criteria into the "Other
criteria" row of the decision matrix. That way these criteria serve as a tiebreaker, but they do not out-weigh "must-have"
design requirements. You can make the design matrix with as many requirement rows and solution columns as you need,
as shown in the examples.
Solution Solution Solution Solution

Requirements and Criteria
#1 #2 #3 #4
Your requirement #1 1 2 2 1
Other criteria (nice-to-have and universal

1 1 2 1
criteria)
Total Points 5 6 8 5
Pros and Cons

If your requirements and solutions are relatively simple, you can sometimes just list the pros and cons for each solution,
as shown in the examples. Pros are good things about a solution and cons are bad things. (The terms pro and con come
from the Latin phrase pro et contra, for and against, and they have been used for centuries.)
Solutions Pros Cons Comments
Solution Idea #1
Solution Idea #2
Solution Idea #3
Solution Idea #4
Decision Matrix Worksheet

Here's a Decision Matrix Worksheet (https://d1ca4yhhe0xc0x.cloudfront.net/science-fair-projects/engineering-design-process/decision-matrix-worksheet.pdf) to
help you choose a design.
Design Solution Checklist

Answer the questions in the quick checklist to find out if you have made a good design choice.
For a Good Design Choice, You Should Answer

What Makes a Good Design Choice?
"Yes" to Every Question
Does your solution meet all of your design

Yes / No
requirements?
Does your solution meet as many of the universal

design criteria as possible?
Elegance
Robustness
Aesthetics
Yes / No
Cost
Resources
Time
Skill Required
Safety
You can find this page online at: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/engineering-design-process/best-

solution
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3/9/2019 The Engineering Design Process: Choose the Best Solution

Choose the Best Solution

Nice to Haves, Desirables

Universal Design Criteria

The Decision Matrix

Solution Solution Solution Solution

Other criteria (nice-to-have and universal

Pros and Cons

Solutions Pros Cons Comments

Decision Matrix Worksheet

Design Solution Checklist

For a Good Design Choice, You Should Answer

Does your solution meet all of your design

Does your solution meet as many of the universal

You can find this page online at: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/engineering-design-process/best-

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